The
unpopular veto, which maintained Chicago's highest-in-the-nation sales
tax at 10 percent, was not expected to be overridden by the
commissioners, even though they voted 12-3 last week to roll back the
tax.

The proposed 1 percent decrease would have directly
counteracted a 1 percent tax hike passed by the commissioners last
year. It would lose the county about $300 million in tax revenue,
according to Stroger.

Some Evanston residents said they were opposed to Stroger's veto, given the current economy.

"Less
is always much better, but now that the economy is all bad, that would
be much more helpful," said 33-year-old resident Miguel Campos. "People
would spend more because they have much more money to spend."

Evanston
Commissioner Larry Suffredin, a Democrat who supported the tax increase
last year but voted last week to overturn it, told local news agencies
he would "work very hard to override this veto."

Stroger
dismissed efforts to override the veto, saying efforts by commissioners
were simply trying to "embarrass" him and "play politics with people's
lives."

But residents said they've felt the pressure of the unusually high sales tax.

"Whenever
I buy something, it's sort of surprising," said 14-year-old Evanston
resident Mia Cudecki. "It says it's going to be $9 and it ends up being
so much more with tax."